The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has denied reports of a new series of polymer currency notes being prepared to be circulated in the market.
A statement by central bank on Saturday refuted the reports, circulating on social media and news channels, as ‘unfounded and lacking merit’.
Plastic currency notes
According to the SBP, there are currently no plans or proposals to transition from paper to plastic (polymer) currency notes.
The utilization of cotton-based paper for currency production remains the standard, with materials primarily sourced locally from Security Papers Limited – which uses mainly local raw materials, the SBP statement emphasized.
The reports regarding the issuance of plastic currency notes comes days after a series of Rs1,000 notes with only one side printed were found in circulation.
A one-minute video of a National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) branch manager in Model Colony, Karachi, went viral earlier this week, showing half-printed Rs1,000 notes.
Later, an SBP spokesperson said that commercial banks and individuals who have received the one-sided printed notes can exchange them at the bank branches where they received the faulty notes. They can also exchange the notes at the designated 16 offices of the central bank nationwide.
